De Courcy Island

De Courcy Island is located beside Valdes Island. De Courcy is about 300 acres in
size. Home to deer, rabbits, racoons, and many eagles.

Named after Michael De Courcy, Commander of the HMS Pylades, which served the
area from 1859 to 1861. The first resident was William Flewett, and arrived in
the late 1880's. He built a log cabin, and farmed. Problems, he faced, included
bad weather, loneliness, and sheep rustlers.

In the late 1920's, a religious group known as the Aquarian Foundation, which
was led by a man known as Brother XII, setup dwellings, and a schoolhouse
on the island. Speculation among the public of the time about the group included rumours
of black magic, immoral behaviour, and even slave labour. The group dissolved
after a few years resulting in various legal battles. Even today, there is
much uncertainty about the group and what really happened.

Between 1943 and 1957, the island was owned by a Swiss brother & sister team,
by the name of Paul and Anna Wyff. They along with a couple of other people
farmed the island communally, living simply and self-sufficiently.

In 1965, De Courcy Island Estates purchased the land and subdivided it into
about 160 lots.

Today, De Courcy Island has 30 to 40 residences on it, mostly summer or weekend use.
Groceries, fuel, building materials can be purchased on nearby Gabriola
Island. Cellular service is available from either Telus or Rogers.
There is a network of hiking trails, gravel roads, barge unloading area, and
resident moorage. There is an on-demand barge service out of Nanaimo on
Vancouver Island.

There is no ferry service, but there are scheduled & chartered seaplane
services to Vancouver. Travel time is about 15 minutes.

In 1966 Pirates Cove Marine Park was establish at the south end of De Courcy Island.
The park is 38 hectares in size. The park features a pebble beach, 4 km of
hiking trails, camping and picnic areas, and two dinghy floats. Inside Pirates
Cove, there is room for about 75 vessels. There are ring bolts in the rocks
for securing stern lines.